Various kinds of powder sticks for use in cosmetic pencils are known. In one such powder stick, as disclosed for example in German laid-open application (DE-OS) No 32 21 296, the powder stick is sheathed on its side surfaces by a shrink film or foil. Powder sticks of that kind are then made up into a suitable element for use for example as a cosmetic pencil by the powder stick being glued into a wood casing or a casing of other suitable material which can be appropriately sharpened to a point, for the purposes of applying the powder. The fact that the powder stick itself is sheathed by a shrink film gives the advantage that the stick is aptly substantially prevented from breaking up, thus reducing the reject rate in the operation of glueing the powder stick to the casing or in the operation of fitting the powder stick into a slide-type or rotary-type sleeve member or a sleeve comprising a material which can be sharpened to a point.
It has now been found that problems still arise, in spite of the powder stick being sheathed with a shrink film, more specifically for the reason that the shrink film under certain circumstances may be comparatively elastic so that the powder stick may suffer damage during handling thereof in subsequent processing operations, although such damage is not always visible from the exterior by virtue of the shrink film sheathing which bears closely and tightly against the powder stick. The fact that the actual powder stick has suffered damage becomes apparent only during use thereof, when the stick crumbles. That is obviously a serious problem with regard to quality control and consumer confidence. Furthermore, it must be possible easily to form a point on the stick, including the shrink film sheathing, and that is a factor which has also frequently caused difficulties with the shrink films which have been used hitherto as a sheathing on a powder stick. In more specific terms, the films are frequently torn during the operation of forming the point on the powder stick or the cosmetic pencil incorporating same, so that the protection afforded to the powder stick at its periphery, by the shrink film, was detrimentally affected, while also giving an unattractive appearance.